Outcome Measure
The Satisfaction With Life Scale
What it measures?
- The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) examines the extent to which a person is satisfied with their life overall (i.e. global life satisfaction). This outcome measure does not assess positive or negative affect, happiness, or satisfaction related to specific life domains. The evaluation of satisfaction with life is cognitive—and involves the person trading off good and bad aspects of their life (Beuningen, 2012). Although there has been some debate regarding the factor structure of the SWLS, multiple authors support a single-factor structure—or else conclude that interpretation of the total scale is justifiable, because additional dimensions are relatively minor (Arrindell, Heesink & Feij, 1999; Slocum-Gori, Zumbo, Michalos & Diener, 2009; for a review see Emerson, Guhm & Gadermann, 2017).
Who is it for?
Adults and adolescents aged 16 years and over (Jovanović, 2016)
Instrument Quality
- The SWLS has demonstrated good psychometric properties in terms of internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent and discriminant validity (Kjell & Diener, 2021). Research suggests that factor loadings, unique variances and factor variance are likely invariant across gender.
Structure
- 5 items
- 7-point Likert scale
- Respondents must indicate how strongly (7 = “Strongly agree”; 1 = “Strongly disagree”) they agree with each item (e.g. “In most ways, my life is close to my ideal”).
Scoring instructions
Items responses are summed to derive a full-scale score.
| Subscale | Item number |
|---|---|
Full-scale (SWLS) |
1,2,3,4,5 |
Score Interpretation
What higher scores mean?
- Greater global satisfaction with life
How to assess symptom severity & change?
| Description | Score Range | |
|---|---|---|
| Extremely dissatisfied | 5 | |
| Dissatisfied | 10 | |
| Slightly dissatisfied | 15 | |
| Slightly satisfied | 20 | |
| Satisfied | 25 | |
| Extremely satisfied | 30 | |
| Maximum | 35 |
Instrument developers
- Diener, E. D., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of personality assessment, 49(1), 71-75
Refrences
*Arrindell, W. A., Heesink, J., & Feij, J. A. (1999). The satisfaction with life scale (SWLS): Appraisal with 1700 healthy young adults in The Netherlands. Personality and individual differences, 26(5), 815-826. * Diener, E. D., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of personality assessment, 49(1), 71-75 *Jovanović, V. (2016). The validity of the Satisfaction with Life Scale in adolescents and a comparison with single-item life satisfaction measures: a preliminary study. Quality of life Research, 25, 3173-3180 *Hinz, A., Conrad, I., Schroeter, M. L., Glaesmer, H., Brähler, E., Zenger, M., ... & Herzberg, P. Y. (2018). Psychometric properties of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), derived from a large German community sample. Quality of Life Research, 27(6), 1661-1670. * Meule, A., & Voderholzer, U. (2020). Life satisfaction in persons with mental disorders. Quality of Life Research, 29, 3043-3052. *Meyer, C., Rumpf, H. J., Hapke, U., & John, U. (2004). Impact of psychiatric disorders in the general population: satisfaction with life and the influence of comorbidity and disorder duration. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 39, 435-441 *Pavot, W., Diener, E. D., Colvin, C. R., & Sandvik, E. (1991). Further validation of the Satisfaction with Life Scale: Evidence for the cross-method convergence of well-being measures. Journal of personality assessment, 57(1), 149-161. * Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (1993). Review of the satisfaction with life scale. Psychological assessment, 5(2), 164.
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Severity ranges
The developer of the SWLS has described the meaning of SWLS ranges in detail—in a non-published personal communication (Diener, 2006). These descriptions appear to be based on work by Pavot and Diener (1993) which summarised a large number of studies that employed diverse samples. The authors note that most community sample means fall between 23 and 28, or the range of slightly satisfied to satisfied. This level of satisfaction is in agreement with the frequent finding that in Western countries, a considerable number of respondents report wellbeing above the neutral point on a variety of measures. The selected ranges are widely used, however we could not find statistical evidence supporting their usage. We have chosen to report them—due to their utility and reputable source—but urge interpretive caution on a psychometrical level.
Reliable change and clinically significant improvement
Wampold et al (2001) conducted a meta analysis of psychotherapy outcome studies and noted that the average improvement was reflected in an effect size (ES) of .80. Because a change of 1 SD corresponds to an ES of 1.0, and .80 is considered to be a large ES, Wise (2004) concludes that a change of 1 SD is a defensible indicator of clinically significant change.
Mean
Standard Deviation
Reliability